Princess Diana's life in pictures

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Lady Diana Spencer, 1971

Princess Diana was born Diana Spencer in 1961 in Sandringham, Norfolk.

Unlike many modern royal spouses, such as the Duchess of Cambridge, Diana was born into a family of British nobility with royal ancestry. She was the fourth child and third daughter of John Spencer, Viscount Althorp, and Frances Roche, and after her father earned the title Earl Spencer, she was named Lady Diana Spencer.

Despite her privileged upbringing, Diana wasn't publicly known until 1981, when the then-20-year-old announced her engagement to the Queens eldest son and heir to the throne, Prince Charles.

Although the couple had two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, their marriage was fraught with misery and adultery - most famously when Prince Charles cheated with his now-wife, Camilla Parker Bowles.

The couple announced their split in 1992 and officially divorced in 1995. With Diana free from the royal family's restraints, she thrived in being able to give more of her time to charity work, and even began dating again - most notably to heir Dodi Al Fayed. Tragically, the couple's relationship was short-lived.

Princess Diana and Dodi were killed on 31st August 1997 when the car they were travelling in crashed in a tunnel in Paris. The world mourned her death, and the impact of her life and shocking tragic end is still felt 20 years on.

From her first public appearance as a shy teenager to the confident, self-assured woman she became, scroll through to see Princess Diana's life in pictures.

Here, a young Lady Diana is pictured on holiday in Itchenor, Sussex.

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Lady Diana Spencer, Prince Charles and the Queen, 1980

Diana and Charles began dating in the summer of 1980, and reportedly went on 12 dates before Charles proposed.

Interestingly, they met for the first time in 1977 while Charles was dating Diana's sister Lady Sarah McCorquodale.

It's believed the Queen was sympathetic to her daughter-in-law in the early days, and wanted to help Diana integrate into the royal family but didn't know how. Their relationship became increasingly strained, but insiders say the monarch now looks back on Diana fondly.

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Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles announce engagement, 1981

The official announcement of Prince Charles’ engagement to Lady Diana Spencer in February 1981 followed months of speculation.

He had proposed three weeks earlier over a private dinner at Buckingham Palace, and the couple managed to keep the news a secret.

Lady Diana, a kindergarten teacher at the time, accepted the proposal immediately, and was given a beautiful diamond and sapphire engagement ring. The ring now belongs to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge.

Speaking to the BBC, 32-year-old Prince Charles said he was "delighted and frankly amazed that Diana is prepared to take me on”.

Diana, 19, told press she was “blissfully happy”.

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Lady Diana Spencer weds Prince Charles, 1981

Lady Diana Spencer was 20 when she married Prince Charles in a traditional ceremony at St Paul's Cathedral in London in July 1981. The couple had announced their engagement earlier that year.

The wedding was a major news event, with an estimated 750 million people around the world watching via television.

Diana's now-iconic wedding dress was designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel and made by Stephen Walters. The train on the gown was a whopping 25 feet (7 metres) long, and caused the bride to have some issues fitting into her royal carriage - as a result, the train was slightly crumpled when she arrived at the altar.

Eleven years after their wedding, the couple separated.

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The Prince and Princess of Wales on honeymoon, 1981

The newlywed Prince and Princess of Wales had a multifaceted honeymoon. They spent three days together in Broadlands, a country house in England, before embarking on an 11-day cruise of the Mediterranean. Finally, they spent time with family on the Balmoral Castle estate.

While it sounds like an idyllic holiday, recent claims suggest otherwise. In a new biography, royal author Sally Bedell Smith claimed the young Princess would cry for hours on end after clashing with her husband during the honeymoon. A letter sent by Diana to her lady in waiting, released earlier this year, described the break as "a perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep".

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Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson, 1983

Here, Diana and Sarah Ferguson, who later became the Duchess of York, are pictured at the Guard's Polo Club in Windsor.

The two women were close friends, but had a dramatic falling out around six months before Diana's death in 1997 - to the extent Diana refused to answer 'Fergie''s calls.

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The Prince and Princess of Wales with baby William, 1983

Charles and Diana’s first child, William Arthur Philip Louis, was born in June 1982.

Just has Prince William has gone on to do with his own two children, the proud parents introduced their newborn to the world on the steps of London’s St Mary’s hospital.

Here, William is pictured with the Prince and Princess of Wales at home in Kensington Palace.

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Princess Diana and Prince Charles with baby Harry, 1984

In 1984, Diana become a mother for the second time, welcoming Henry Charles Albert David - known as Harry.

In an interview with royal biographer Andrew Morton, released earlier this year, the princess admitted Harry's birth marked the downfall of her marriage to Charles.

"Charles and I were very, very close to each other the six weeks before Harry was born, the closest we've ever, ever been and ever will be," she said.

"Then, suddenly, as Harry was born, it just went bang, our marriage. The whole thing went down the drain."

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Princess Diana plays with Prince William, 1985

A sweet photo of the Princess of Wales helping her first son with a puzzle in his playroom at their home in Kensington Palace.

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Princess Diana with William and Harry, 1985

According to her two sons, Diana was a loving and "naughty" mother. She's pictured here with Prince William and Prince Harry at Kensington Palace.

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Princess Diana dances with John Travolta, 1985

During US President Ronald Reagan's White House Gala, Princess Diana took to the floor with Hollywood superstar John Travolta. Naturally, they danced to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

Travolta recalls First Lady Nancy Reagan telling him on the night that it was the royal's "wish" to dance with him. However, Diana's former butler has since claimed her first choice of partner was someone else entirely - her hero, ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Regardless, Travolta still considers the moment a highlight of his life.

"At midnight, I had to tap her on her shoulder, and I had to say, 'Would you care to dance'," he recalled in an interview.

"She turned around and dipped her head in that Lady Diana way and we were off for 15 minutes dancing."

Famously, Diana wore a midnight blue floor-length gown that came to be nicknamed "the Travolta dress".

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Princess Diana tours Canada, 1986

The Canadian tour of 1986 was the second for Princess Diana. Her outfits during the visit were the epitome of '80s fashion, exemplified by this particular ensemble.

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Princess Diana with Prince Harry, 1987

The Princess has a tender moment with her secondborn son during a summer holiday in Majorca, Spain.

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Princess Diana in Paris, 1988

Princess Diana was widely considered a fashion icon of the '80s and '90s. Here, she is pictured at a memorial service in Paris, wearing a Jasper Conran coat, a Viv Knowlands hat, and blue eyeliner - one of her makeup trademarks.

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Princess Diana wears her favourite tiara, 1989

Queen Elizabeth gave Princess Diana the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara as a wedding gift in 1981.

It quickly became one of her most treasured pieces of jewellery, even though she reportedly suffered headaches when wearing it because it was so heavy. In this photo, Diana wears the tiara while on tour in Hong Kong.

The pearl and diamond headpiece was made in 1914 after being commissioned by Queen Mary.

After Diana’s death, the heirloom was kept in a safe in Buckingham Palace before being passed down to the Duchess of Cambridge, who was worn it for a number of royal engagements.

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Princess Diana takes William and Harry skiing, 1991

Princess Diana took princes William and Harry on a ski trip during a school term in 1991, whisking them away to Austria.

William in particular developed a love of skiing, returning to the slopes with his mother, his father, and now his own family.

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Princess Diana at the Serpentine Gallery summer party, 1994

This form-fitting black mini dress became one of Princess Diana's most iconic looks for two reasons.

Firstly, the dress - designed by Christina Stambolian - was a far more daring outfit than she'd previously worn.

Secondly, the night she wore it coincided with the broadcast of Prince Charles' famous tell-all documentary, in which he admitted to his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. Thus, Diana's outfit was nicked named her 'Revenge Dress'.

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Princess Diana meets land mine victims in Angola, 1997

By 1997, Princess Diana was on a crusade to draw the world's attention to the harrowing human toll of land mines, and achieved this through a series of visits to affected countries.

In the war-scarred nation of Angola, she spent time meeting injured civilians, including children - hugging them, touching their maimed limbs and shaking their hands rather than keeping her distance.

Diana also strode through an active minefield, accompanied by charity worker Paul Heslop

“I did not want to be the person known for blowing up the most famous person in the world!” he admitted in an interview earlier this year.